Devin Williams was never a fit in New York, but Yankees fans have taken it too far

On Monday night, the New York Yankees' losing streak reached four games when Devin Williams blew a save in the bottom of the ninth by surrendering a game-tying home run to one of the worst hitters in MLB, Joc Pederson, who was called upon to pinch hit. Pederson is batting .132 with a .503 OPS, 48 OPS+ and three home runs in 54 games. He's registered a -0.9 WAR on the season. That's how bad this Yankees' season is.

Fans quickly flooded social media to rip the right-hander, which was justified. The supposed "best closer in baseball" from 2020-2024 has a 5.10 ERA and -0.3 WAR in 2025. It's beyond unacceptable. But guess what? From the day Williams arrived in New York, it was obvious he wasn't a fit, and the Yankees haven't used him correctly (outside of a short period of time when he was demoted because of struggles).

Had Luke Weaver not gotten injured, the situation would likely be much different. Williams probably never would've reclaimed the closer role and the outrage wouldn't be at an all-time high. Williams was excellent in June, but outside of that he's mostly been a liability (or underwhelming).

And guess whose fault that is? Aaron Boone's! Yankees fans losing their minds, claiming the front office should've traded Williams at the deadline (of course, the same fans who were demanding this team fix the roster to make a run at the World Series this year), don't even know who to blame anymore.

Williams is still an elite reliever. It's just clear he cannot handle the highest of leverage in New York. It wasn't a great trade as the results unfolded. It is what it is. But this team already had a broken bullpen and Williams was still one of the more reliable relievers. That's not his fault. Brian Cashman did an objectionable job building this unit in the offseason. Boone keeping Williams as closer since May 27 is another problem entirely.

Yankees need to remove Devin Williams from the closer role right now

This is a classic Yankees story. Instead of using their collection of arms to save games by committee (Weaver is capable, Tim Hill is capable, and so are newcomers David Bednar and Camilo Doval), Williams, who has not earned the job, has remained as the last line of defense. Remember when they did this last year with Clay Holmes, who blew a league-leading 12 saves before the Yankees finally pulled the trigger in September (and he managed to blow another)?

This time around, they were much less equipped to make that decision before the trade deadline. But when reinforcements were acquired, Boone said Williams would remain the closer because "the other guys aren't here yet." Great answer, Aaron. We see what you did there.

But what about now? When they're here? Why is Luke Weaver coming in to keep the game within reach in the sixth inning? He's arguably your best option to handle high-leverage! We understand a lot of this feels like hindsight, but everybody watching on Monday night was scratching their head.

There was a collective sentiment of "Oh man, this guy is going to blow it" the moment Williams walked out from the bullpen. He's never really had it. He's never really looked comfortable here. He's never looked like a long-term option. But that doesn't mean he should have been traded on July 31, especially if the Yankees had a plan to go for it in 2025. He just needed a role change. He should be pitching the seventh inning at this point.

Please, tell us the strategy of getting rid of Williams? Selling him at his lowest value for next to nothing in return and losing a bullpen option in the process? When you already had five undeserving relievers being rostered?

Williams is not the guy the Yankees traded for. But a simple role change in the midst of a stretch where he's allowed a run in five of his last seven appearances would probably do wonders. The Yankees' inability to act with intention has led to fans retroactively calling for Williams to be traded when that would've solved absolutely nothing.

This organization is broken. The fanbase is broken. Fire somebody today. Could quite honestly be anybody. Because we have reached new levels of ineptitude nobody thought were possible.